The present invention is generally related to munitions training apparatus and, more particularly, to a reuseable practice munition for distributing inert mines in a consistant mine field pattern.
The armed forces are continually seeking training methods that are safe and inexpensive, yet closely represent tactical equipment use and performance. Currently, armed forces personnel use very unsophisticated methods for training personnel in the use of in rack mounted mine dispenser systems. As generally used in this specification the term xe2x80x9ctacticalxe2x80x9d refers to a fully armed system having live mines and/or refers to parts employed in such tactical systems. The term xe2x80x9ctrainingxe2x80x9d is used herein to denote inert systems used for training personnel in the use of the tactical systems. One example of a typical mine dispenser is broadly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,332 to Van Sloun, issued Aug. 21, 1984 entitled Dispersing Mine Dispenser, all of the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A prior training system incorporated a U.S. Army model M88 mine dispenser as a training canister. The prior M88 training canister dispensed cast aluminum dummy mines rather than tactical mines in an attempt to make training safer and more realistic. All other hardware in the M88 training canister, including the canister itself, was tactical U.S. Army model M87 hardware. The prior M88 training canister suffered from the significant drawback that it was not reusable. Demonstrations and training using such systems involving non-reuseable tactical hardware proved very expensive. As a result, the military forces have resorted to substituting less expensive training systems.
For example, in an effort to reduce costs, crude blocks of wood are hand tossed from trucks to represent mine locations. In such simulations, canisters are not actually fired, thus putting the trainees at risk for mistakes when they use a fully assembled and armed tactical system. In addition, such xe2x80x9ctraining minexe2x80x9d locations are not indicative of a tactical minefield. Resulting safety and training issues indicate a heretofore unsatisfied need for inert equipment that demonstrates and trains users with regard to the safety features of the tactical equipment.
A motivation of the present invention is to provide a training system that is inexpensive because it employs reusable elements. Another motivation is to provide especially a system that does not require servicing by higher echelons and/or special maintenance facilities to prepare them for reuse. It is yet another motivation of the invention to provide a system that requires substantially less labor to assemble and use than currently known systems in order to reduce the costs associated with using such a system. At the same time, the present invention provides a more effective and more versatile training system that most closely resembles tactical use and performance of an actual tactical system.
In contrast to the prior art, the present invention provides a reusable training dispenser for dispensing simulated mines including a canister with a payload simulating tactical mines loaded into said canister. A breech includes a reusable slider housing mounted thereon, wherein the breech includes a keyed connector for quick connection to a fire pulse circuit. An obturator is connected as an interface between the canister and the breech.
In another embodiment, a plurality of inert mines are loaded into a canister in end-to-end relationship, where each of said plurality of inert mines includes a locating feature for a dispersion strap. A breech includes a reusable slider housing mounted thereon. A closure cap covers another end of said canister. An obturator is inserted into a breech end of said canister and connected as an interface between the canister and a breech. The dispersing strap is anchored to said breech where the dispersing strap is woven around said plurality of inert mines within the canister such that the strap traverses the locating feature of at least some of said plurality of inert mines so as to disperse said plurality of mines in a simulated mine dispersion pattern when said canister is fired.
One advantage of the invention is that it provides a significantly less expensive training system than taught by the prior art. The reloadable canister of the invention exhibits about a 10-time reduction in cost over using a tactical system loaded with dummy mines for training.
Another advantage of the invention is that it provides a training system canister that can be reloaded for use multiple times safely and reliably by armed forces users with minimal required training and using just a few common tools. The training canister can accommodate 20 or more uses and the most expensive non-explosive items of the training canister are reusable. Those items that are not reusable have been designed to be relatively inexpensive so that discarding them does not add undue cost. For example, the dispersion strap in the training system is significantly less expensive than a tactical system, because electrical signal communication required by the tactical hardware is not needed with the inert payload of the training system. At the same time the training system""s strap maintains dispersion performance substantially equivalent to that of tactical dispersion systems.
It is another advantage of the present invention that the training system""s reloadable canisters very closely match the performance of the tactical system canisters in all significant aspects, from size and shape to payload dispersion.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention that payload for the training canisters is flexible depending on training requirements. Inert dummy mines that match tactical mine dispersion most closely are most often used and are fully reusable. These can be replaced by, for example, sand mines that also resemble the tactical mine but are not reusable and degrade soon after deployment. Other payloads might include laser activated mines, paint ball mines, or weight-simulating slugs.